


Tips & Tricks

by Sleepyheadven



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Eren is Hange's son, F/M, Fluff, Humor, Silly, Single Parent Hange Zoe, a bit of flirting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-28
Updated: 2017-07-28
Packaged: 2018-12-07 22:40:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,453
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11633427
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sleepyheadven/pseuds/Sleepyheadven
Summary: Eren’s brow was furrowed forward in confusion as he spoke. “I thought you said that staring at people isn’t nice?” He said after a few moments, gathering his thoughts. He seemed genuinely bewildered as to why she was intensely staring down a stranger when she had told him countless times before that it was impolite to do so.Oh, lord, was her only thought as she quickly scrambled for an excuse. “I - Uh - well, sometimes people stare at other people because -” before she could even begin to form a proper sentence, Eren interjected. She wasn’t sure whether to be grateful or dismayed by his actions.“Is it because you think he’s cute? My friend Ymir stares at my friend Krista that way all the time, she says it’s because she’s so pretty!” Eren babbled happily, oblivious to the way Hange’s grip around the handle of the cart tightened. Her brown eyes darted back and forth between the stranger and her son, hoping that he couldn’t overhear their conversation seeing as Eren wasn’t the softest of speakers.





	Tips & Tricks

Hange let herself heave a sigh of relief as she pulled into the Target parking lot, her slender fingers tapping rhythmically against the steering wheel along to the Disney soundtrack Eren insisted they listen to on the way to the store. 

She mentally went over the list of things she needed to buy; A new mop, laundry detergent, dish soap, bleach, window cleaner, and a bathroom cleaner. She was almost embarrassed to admit how long she had waited to buy these items, they were each long overdue. Though, in all fairness, her house wasn’t extremely dirty, but it was certainly beginning to clutter and become dusty. It had become quite apparent when Eren had nearly toppled over a stack of books on himself when entering her bedroom. 

Although, in her defense, her job had been demanding as could be recently, leaving her with little time to both make sure Eren was well cared for and still be left with remaining energy to clean the entire house which is why she had chosen to do it today while she had the free time.

Hange pulled into a parking space, and turned the keys out of the ignition, pulling them out. “Are you ready to go, Munchkin?” She turned towards her four-year-old son, a bright smile spreading across her face. She watched as the little boy nodded his head in excitement, his tousled locks of hair bouncing along with his movements. 

She pocketed her keys as she unstrapped her seatbelt, climbing out of her car. The brunette then hurriedly rushed over to the other side of the car, pausing to press her face up against the window and pull a funny expression. She heard his muffled laughter through the glass and snickered as well as she pulled open the door. “Are you excited to shop around in Target? I know how much you love it here.” She said as she unstrapped him from his car seat. 

”Can we look at the toys?” He asked in a pleading tone, his green eyes growing wider as he looked up at her. 

“Sure, but only if you’re on your best behavior while we’re in there.” Hange ruffled his hair, moving to help him climb out of the car. He brushed her off as he hopped down onto the pavement easily by himself. “Hold my hand.” She held it out for him, which he latched onto routinely after constant scolding from her. Eren had a habit of wandering off without paying attention to anything around him. 

“Mom, can we get pop tarts?” Eren inquired with an unconvincing pout, his green eyes widened and glazed over as he looked up at her. 

Hange didn’t bother staring down into his eyes as they entered the store, knowing what awaited her if she did. The little boy had the most convincing pair of puppy-dog eyes she had ever come across and as he grew older their intensity only increased as he began to learn how to use them. “We’ll have to see.” She told him non-committedly while grabbing a cart. “Stay close to me, please.” She said as she snuck a glance down at him, watching as he stared off to the left of them. Hange could practically see the gears turning in his head and the temptation swimming in his eyes. She inwardly contemplated on just plopping him in the cart so he wouldn’t wander off by himself. 

“Eren.” Hange called his name in order to get his attention, beginning to walk towards the specific aisle she knew the cleaning items were shelved. The little boy skipped over to where she was heading, having fallen a few steps behind. “Let our adventure to locate the magical grease rinse away lavender scented dish soap begin!” She pointed dramatically towards their destination. 

“Yeah! But, we gotta hurry or else the Pirates are gonna steal it.” He hopped up in excitement, his eyes expressing determination, much to Hange’s amusement. He paused in apparent thought, before looking up at her. “Mom, can we go scuba diving?” He asked in genuine curiosity. “I wanna do that.” 

She reached down and ran her fingers through his hair. “Unfortunately, you won’t be able to go scuba diving until you’re a few years older - but, until then, how about when we get home I fill up the bathtub for you? Oh! Maybe we can even find you a pair of swimming goggles. You’d be just like a real scuba diver, then, right? That’s sounds like it would be fun.” 

He brightened instantly, nodding his head. “Yeah! Scuba divers can’t swim without goggles or else they get the water in their eyes, right?” 

“That’s right.” Hange let out a small, amused laugh at how eager he appeared to be. She paused and observed the several red signs above each aisle before her eyes came across the one that read ‘Cleaning Supplies’. She turned her cart into the narrow alley as Eren walked ahead of her, his eyes taking in the graphic art design on every label. 

The brunette pushed the carriage further into the aisle, feeling the urge to sigh as she placed a mop in the cart. She willed herself not to think about all of the other things she could have been doing besides this - if she did her mood would plummet as it usually did whenever she thought of those types of instances. 

Hange grabbed an off-brand glass cleaner that was relatively cheap; cleaner was cleaner, right? She had never bothered paying attention to brand names, or even the prices, for that matter. They all did the job the same way, and it would spare a few minutes of her time, as well. 

Hange paused in her actions, however, as her observant gaze settled upon yet another figure besides herself and Eren at the end of the aisle. The man was considerably short, perhaps a couple inches shorter than she was - although that didn’t do anything to hinder his intimidating exterior. She found herself unable to tear her gaze away from him, her eyes trailing across his appearance tentatively, particularly the way the sleeves to his button-up shirt were rolled up until they met his elbows, revealing intricately inked tattoo sleeves along his forearms. 

His dark hair resembled that of a raven’s feathers, styled into an undercut that she thought would look ridiculous on anyone but this attractive stranger. His head was tilted down as he read the back cover of a bottle of all purpose cleaner, his bangs falling into his eyes which appeared to be narrowed and tired. 

Hange was suddenly broken out of her train of thought as her four-year-old son tugged lightly on her pants to gather her attention. “What’s wrong, Babe?” She lifted a brow in question, leaning down towards him, the stranger swiftly forgotten in favor of her child. 

Eren’s brow was furrowed forward in confusion as he spoke. “I thought you said that staring at people isn’t nice?” He said after a few moments, gathering his thoughts. He seemed genuinely bewildered as to why she was intensely staring down a stranger when she had told him countless times before that it was impolite to do so. 

Oh, lord, was her only thought as she quickly scrambled for an excuse. “I - Uh - well, sometimes people stare at other please because -” before she could even begin to form a proper sentence, Eren interjected. She wasn’t sure whether to be grateful or dismayed by his actions. 

“Is it because you think he’s cute? My friend Ymir stares at my friend Krista that way all the time, she says it’s because she’s so pretty!” Eren babbled happily, oblivious to the way Hange’s grip around the handle of the cart tightened. Her brown eyes darted back and forth between the stranger and her son, hoping that he couldn’t hear their conversation seeing as Eren wasn’t the softest of speakers. 

The little boy brightened visibly as if an idea had just fallen upon him, and Hange instinctively placed a hand on his shoulder, preventing him from going anywhere. However, what she hadn’t been prepared for was for him to call out to the man - in retrospect she should have seen this coming, he was only four years old, after all. “Excuse me, Mister.” He waved his hand in greeting. 

The man glanced over at the sound of his voice, and Hange was left with no choice but to let go of his shoulder. This is what happens when you encourage your child to be extremely social at a young age, she grimaced as she remained firmly in place. Hopefully, Eren wouldn’t say anything too outrageous, and then she could go in and quickly smooth things over. 

“Hi!” He greeted the stranger with a wide grin, his light eyes shining in admiration as his eyes fell upon the permanent ink drawn across his arms. “Whoa, those are so cool!” He exclaimed in apparent awe. Hange fought back a smile at his behavior. 

Levi stared down at the small child in disinterest. “Is there something you need, kid?” He asked dryly, the bottle of Lysol he held still firmly in his grasp, not bothering to lower it. 

Eren didn’t falter at his brash attitude, continuing on undeterred. “My mommy thinks you’re cute.” He told him loudly, a sense of happiness dressing his tanned features at his exclamation. Hange felt all of the blood in her body rush to her cheeks at her son’s words, silently wishing for the ground to open up and swallow her whole which was something to be said considering she rarely let herself feel embarrassed 

The man raised a thin brow in response, but despite that, his expression remained neutral as his gaze wandered from the little boy to the woman who stood a few feet away from her son, The brunette bounced up to the two of them, embarrassment still apparent on her features as she grasped the little boy’s hand. “I’m really sorry about that, he has this bad habit of just walking up to strangers and starting up a conversation. I’d prefer it if you’d ignore whatever it was he just said, I mean, you know how kids are, right? Haha.” She rambled out apologetically. 

The man across from here merely stared, his gaze unnerving as he remained silent. Eventually, his light eyes traveled to the contents of her cart and a scowl instantly dressed his features. Hange shifted at the change in his expression, curious as to what made his demeanor suddenly change. “Do you actually clean your house with this garbage?” He asked, his eyes now meeting her own. Hange wondered if he felt legitimately offended at her choice of cleaning supplies. 

“Sure, I mean, window cleaner is window cleaner…” Hange could have sworn that he’d reacted as if he’d just been punched in the gut. “Is there a problem?” She said after a moment, her eyes widening slightly as she watched him walk off towards the other end of the aisle. 

She watched as he gathered several differing items in his arms before making his way back to her, and dumping them in her cart silently. “I suggest you purchase these instead, otherwise, you’ll eventually die from dirt and grime infestation.” He told her flatly, crossing his arms over his chest. 

“Alrighty, then, Mr. Clean.” She stated in a teasing manner. “Do you have any more useful cleaning tips you’d like to share with me?” She inquired slyly, beginning to feel much more like herself. She turned towards her son and scooped him up in her arms, settling him into the front seat of the cart. He whined in response, softly kicking his legs back against the carriage in annoyance, 

“I do, and it seems like you desperately need them.” He responded dryly. 

“So, you wouldn’t mind sending me a few daily reminders over text, then?” She let a small smirk pull at her lips as she stared down at him. “I’d be grateful if you did.” She added as an afterthought while she pulled her cell phone out of her pocket. 

Hange noted his reluctance, and smiled at him. “You don’t have to give me your number if you don’t want too.” 

Levi hesitated briefly before he reached out and grabbed her phone, quickly typing in his number and sending a quick message. He wasn’t sure what had possessed him to give his number out to a stranger, but, he was almost certain it was due to how easy-going she appeared. She practically radiated kindness, as stupid as that may have sounded. “I didn’t get your name, by the way.” She reminded him as she retrieved her phone. 

“Levi.” He answered simply, his eyes trailing towards the little boy who made a small noise once he finished speaking. 

“That’s a really cool name!” Eren said with a widening grin, and Hange grinned as well. Levi felt the slightest bit of amusement at the eccentric pair. 

“I’m Hange Zoë, and this talkative munchkin here is Eren.” She ran her fingers through his hair, ruffling his already messy locks. “Anyways, as much as I’d love to sit around and chat, we actually have a house that is in desperate need of some cleaning to tend to.” She grabbed the cart handle. “I’ll be expecting those tips, Levi!” She said from over her shoulder as she strolled away.  
Once she was far enough away, she steadily sped up and began replicating race car noises while Eren cheered and laughed, the sounds echoing throughout the entire section of the store. 

Strange woman, Levi thought to himself as he watched her form retreat. 

A few hours later, once Hange had thoroughly scrubbed the entirety of her house and made Eren lunch as well as putting him down for a much needed nap, she let herself plop tiredly down on her sofa. It was then that she noticed she had gotten a text message from the handsome stranger she had met earlier.

From Mr. Clean: 

If you want a shine to your hardwood floors, mix a few cap fulls of white vinegar in water. 

Hange snorted with laughter at the text message, not having the slightest clue as to why she found the text so endearing. He had followed up on their agreement, after all.

To Mr. Clean: 

Thank you so much for the tip, I’m sure it’ll help me in the future! So, how about in return for the helpful advice, I buy you a cup of coffee? 

It took him more than twenty minutes to respond. 

From Mr. Clean:

…Sure… 

The brunette grinned to herself - perhaps her child being overly social and extremely observant wasn’t such a bad thing after all.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello there~! 
> 
> This is from a request I got from Tumblr that asked me to write an AU, so I did! This is just a light-hearted, not meant to be taken seriously one-shot, honestly, and I figured I'd post it here. Also, if you read Challenge Accepted, there will be an update this week, I promise! Things in my life are kind of settling down now, so I'll have a bit more time to write. 
> 
> Thanks for reading, hopefully you enjoyed it~! 
> 
> Also, my Tumblr URL is Sleepyheadven - if you want to request something for me to write, go on ahead, requests are still open!


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